民间组织走出去

By /Fred Krupp（弗雷德·克虏伯）

民间组织走出去

By /Fred Krupp（弗雷德·克虏伯）

NGO'S GOING ABROAD

美国环保协会主席Fred Krupp（弗雷德·克虏伯）在清华做专题演讲

美国环保协会的故事开始于50多年前一场关于保护鸬鹚，一种可爱的鸟类的运动。上世纪60年代，美国长岛的科学家惊讶地发现当地鸬鹚幼鸟的数量由于不知名的原因，急剧下滑至正常数量的七分之一。与此同时，秃头鹰、游隼等其他猛禽的数量也出现了同样惊人的跌幅。其中一些科学家通过科学研究追踪问题的根源，发现喷洒杀虫剂DDT（又称“滴滴涕”）是造成这一现象的罪魁祸首。在通过科学的指证赢得了在美国全面禁止DDT使用的官司之后，为了进一步保护人类赖以生存的自然环境，这些科学家成立了美国环保协会。

事实上，美国环保协会创立于1967年，比美国联邦环保局的成立还要早三年。说到1970年，一周之前，我们刚刚度过了第45个世界地球日，这个日子在现代环境运动史中是具有里程碑意义的一天。

1978年我从密歇根大学法学院毕业之后，创立了康

涅狄格环境基金会，这是我第一次接触到环境运动。今天，这个基金会依然在保护着这里的土地、空气和水，我也依然在主席委员会中任职。1984年，我进入美国环保协会并担任执行主任，使我能够站在更高的角度，从整个国家层面来考虑环境问题。

今天的美国环保协会与上世纪60年代那个初露头角的小机构已经不可同日而语，但我们所坚持的科学原则却历久弥新。美国环保协会由一群科学家创办，到现在我们的工作依然建立在最佳科学论据的基础上。随着科学的发展，我们也在不断调整我们的工作方向。我们是美国第一家雇佣经济学家来解决环境问题的环保组织。通过运用科学和经济这两把利剑，我们一直致力于为最紧迫的环境问题寻找解决方案。

我们将工作重点放在海洋、气候、生态系统和人体健康等领域中，并跨越了国家的界限，因为这些问题已经成为全世界所面临的共同挑战。

在我执掌美国环保协会的30多年间，我见证了美国环保协会的逐步成长。我们的年预算从300万美元增长到1.3亿美元，员工从50人增加到500人，会员也从4万名增加到超过100万。但我认为其中最重要的变化是，它从上世纪80年代的一个美国本土组织逐渐走向了世界，除了美国的9个办公室之外，目前已经在北京、上海、伦敦、墨西哥设立了办公室。

从中你可以看到美国环保协会从本土到全球的转变。我们相信“放眼全球，立足本地”对于民间组织的未来发展至关重要。

美国环保协会之所以选择了国际化，除了作为公益性的环保组织扩展视野以外，也与世界的改变有关。比如，随着交通和信息化的发展，人与人之间的联系越发紧密。因此，要应对如气候变化这样的全球性危机，必须超越政府和区域的界限。

The Environmental Defense Fund story began nearly 50 years ago with the magnificent osprey, or fish hawk, one of the most beloved of all wild birds in America. Scientists on Long Island in the 1960s were shocked to find the number of osprey chicks had plummeted to about one-seventh normal, while the bald eagle, peregrine falcon and other raptors faced similar sharp declines. The scientists who founded EDF traced the problem to airplanes blanketing Long Island with the pesticide DDT.

We were actually founded in 1967 - some three years before the US Environmental Protection Agency was established in 1970. Speaking of 1970, we have just celebrated the 45th anniversary of the founding of Earth Day in the US, one of the key dates in the history of modern environmentalism.

My own formal involvement with the environmental movement began after law school when I created the Connecticut fund for the Environment in 1978. That organization is still working to protect the land, air and water in and around the state and Long

Island Sound. I still serve on the President's Council. In 1984, I had the opportunity to move to a national stage as the Executive Director of the Environmental Defense Fund.

Today's Environmental Defense Fund bears little resemblance to the fledgling organization of the 1960s, except that science sets the agenda today just as it did at our founding. EDF was founded by scientists, and we've always based our policies on the best available science. If new evidence comes to light, we alter those policies accordingly. We were also the first environmental group to hire economists to help solve environmental problems. Guided by science and economics, we find practical and lasting solutions to the most serious environmental problems.

EDF has recognized that the priority problems we focus on -oceans, climate, ecosystems, and health -- transcend national boundaries. These are truly problems of the global commons. During the 30 years that I have been running EDF, I witnessed our organization continually growing stronger. Our annual budget has increased from 3 million dollars to 130 million dollars, and our employees have grown from 50 to 500. Our members also have increased from 40,000 to over 1 million. However, I think the most important transformation is that our organization has stepped onto a global platform since the 1980s, from a US domestic organization to an international non-profit with 9 US offices and international offices in Beijing, Shanghai, London, and Mexico.

In addition to expanding our horizons as a public interest environmental group, EDF's choice of the path towards internationalization also has to do with the changes around the world. With the globalization of information, transportation, and the economy, all of us are now connected to one another. Therefore, a global challenge such as climate change must be tackled beyond governmental and regional boundaries.

In my brief review of my experience, you can see the transition for local to global. We truly believe that it is critical to think globally and act locally.